Drudging Through Academia: Four Articles :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reading the four assigned articles, to me, was equivalent to the â€Å"Reading† section of the ACT. Both seem to drag on for what seems like hours and require much re-reading to comprehend the complete message trying to be conveyed. My point is not that these articles are not worth reading. They contain valuable information about a very tough objective in academia today: writing. More directly, their focus seems to be the different methods available to help improve the writing of the up-and-coming writers of today. The only question I pose is whether all of the points presented in these articles pertain to the every day academy. The common point of the articles is clear: they house the authors’ theories for bettering the work of young writers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The authors of these articles use very persuasive points throughout their individual articles to install their belief in these â€Å"key† elements. Especially evident in the article, â€Å"Inventing the University†, by David Bartholomae, was an arrogant tone toward the â€Å"basic writers† of today’s society. He repeatedly refers to the fact that these â€Å"basic writers† are shut out or do not comprehend the â€Å"privileged language† of the elite group (139). This leads me to believe that the â€Å"basic writers† are unfairly judged simply based on their lack of experience. Being one of these so-called â€Å"basic writers,† I do not especially like my writing being degraded simply because I have a smaller interest in every minuscule detail of academic writing. In â€Å"Building a Mystery: Alternative Research Writing and the Academic Act of Seeking,† by Robert Davis and Mark Shadle, the authors do s omething similar. They bring up the point that most emphasis is put on the research paper while little is put on other projects such as a cultural research project. Such a project would cause the student â€Å"to explore topics of interest and fascination and use a variety of sources to inform projects that combine multiple genres and, in some cases, different media, disciplines, and cultures.† (Davis 431). Also, they assume that nearly all inexperienced writers rely on a type of â€Å"recipe† for research papers and other projects. One could say that this assumption is true since most college students write papers that are cut-and-dry research papers, following exact guidelines set by their instructors. Yet little credit is given to the creativity of these writers, even though it may (and most likely does) exist.