Literacy Narrative Final Draft

Jorja Mason
Professor Matyakubova
Eng 101
November 1, 2017
                                             Reading for Purpose’s not a purpose

While growing up, especially within our academic careers we find ourselves doing a number of tasks because we have to, not ever really thinking of the purpose behind these tasks or practices, this will ultimately leave us with a hunger of wanting more. This was in some cases me in highschool, not really understanding the motions, just going through them and excelling only due to my gift in the way I speak and how I write. However I lacked the one thing I yearned for understanding critically in the way I read. During my Junior year I had partaken in an honors economics and government class that would develop my literacy skills , changing me forever as reader turning me into a more critical one and in return a better writer.
All throughout my school career I had been able to understand classwork and homework faster than my peers.Due to teachers recognition of this I had been thrown on to this pedestal which subconsciously made me feel as though I no longer needed to study or further develop my skills. Every class I  shot my hand up so fast, as if i could read the teacher's mind. One ninety on a quiz turned into two, two multiplied to four, and so on. At the peak of my knowledge so I thought, nothing, no one, and no work of course could faze me. However I started to see a change as I progressed through my High school career.
As I got farther through high school the level of the classes I was thrown into got more difficult so did my understanding. AP us history , statistics ,government honors , Physics seemed like hell compared to the angelic classes I had once been in. Numbers suffocated me and words jumbled in my head as I tried to organize all my thoughts and get my work done. Although it was a battle I managed to do exceptionally well in all of my classes except for Government honors. It felt as though no matter how hard I tried I could not understand the material, not to mention the teacher was infamous for giving fifteen page papers. Until taking this class I had not heard of anything so absurd and could only dream of a paper that long, in my dreams of college.This class was different than anything I was used to.
Since it was an honors class I had already so much to prove not only to myself but most importantly my class mates. Before the assignments of the deadly fifteen page paper we were to bring into class a new current event for the start of each class. These events had to be political but also could be social as well in regards to current topics in the media such as the  prejudices within universities that was going on at the time,  to discussing our own moral judgements to actions taken by police on issues  in society. The catch was however it had to be authentic and no two students could bring in the same event and if you did , you BETTER have had a backup ! I was able to bring in current events and glide through the class with mediocre grades not really reading through or understanding the topic of the event if it was more on the political side. Until the day I had dreaded all semester came, the Professor whose name was Mr.Chipman had called on me to share out while explaining its relevance afterward. As I spoke I felt my heart sank as I shared a topic on business and marketing graduates choosing to work for a small undeveloped company rather than a well know established one like google or apple. In giving this account I felt my teacher was intrigued on my findings which suddenly turned into dissatisfaction as I had no real view on the matter at hand. This was because in reality I didn’t really understand it despite the summary I could give of reading it. I had came to the conclusion I was reading for no purpose. I could not identify the articles  push toward a view in writing the piece. After taking what seemed to be the biggest loss ever and walk of embarrassment back to my seat, I was now determined to advance my critical reading as I could not pretend to be happy with the grades I received.
One project we had to do involving the stock market and a company of our choice. We had to find the numbers and delegate if it was a good company to invest in.
To practice reading for a purpose I began using techniques that would overall improve my understanding. Whenever choosing a piece to read I would read all aspects it included. This meant the title, abstracts, and any footnotes which it entailed. By doing this It became clearer why the author added certain things and even their view as it was influenced by another author they cited within their own piece. I also began to look up words I didn’t not know or even words I thought I knew but had really not known the definition of. This helped me plug in meaning to the sentence which overall gave me a better understanding of the paragraphs as a whole. In return I could now summarize what the individual paragraphs with meaning . This ultimately gave me a better understanding of the article, because if I could now summarize with understanding I was able to place myself in the mind of the author him/herself. I could now see the way in which they organized their thoughts, almost like following a detailed map of the brain. Last but not least I re- read the articles and pieces to catch any information I missed or even to get a second reaction to see if I viewed any information in new light as I might’ve not have in the first reading. Once I now had these skills in place I could strengthen my own opinions. As I no longer read for enjoyment but for critique and arguments. These arguments were vital in the process of writing, and allowing the readers to form an opinion against or in favor of the view the author is exposing. I now began to get better grades on my current events and when the fifteen page papers came I knew how to form opinions and scan for useful information, how I learned how to cite is another story on its own.

Although it takes a great deal of effort and time to develop the skill, reading critically has more benefits than the obvious failing grade if not completed. It can take you to new depths as it allows you to form opinions on what you’re reading and not take information just as is. If we all read for a purpose the world would have more writers instead of readers.