Introduction and Coming to Terms – Blog 3

One of the first things that Joseph Harris mentions about writing in his novel, Rewriting, is the fact that most pieces of writing are formed in response to the work of others.  In turn, this makes the act of reading before writing that much more important.  Harris believes that “this interplay of ideas defines academic writing.”  He talks about what is necessary in the process of rewriting and what people need to do to turn already written pieces into their own writing, which includes avoiding plagiarism, documenting sources, citing authorities, and acknowledging influences.  But directly after he states this, Harris indicates that integrating these steps cut out the ability to truly delve into another persons writing in order to make it your own.

As the author describes the structure of the book, he reveals that chapter 1 will talk about the clearest form of rewriting, which is the representation of another’s work “in ways that are both fair to them and useful to your own aims in writing.”  I agree with Harris’ idea that there is no such thing as a completely accurate summary of a piece of writing, because there will always be a different set of eyes and different combinations of values that either approve or disapprove of someone else’s summary.  He later shares that “Coming to Terms” is to represent another work and to translate it into your own.

After reading both the piece by Andrew Sullivan and the first two chapters of Joseph Harris’ novel I got the feeling that they both had the same viewpoint that reading and writing are two very powerful instruments that people should use more often to communicate, while also becoming more aware of what is surrounding them.