Blog #2 Emily Nelson

The first hot spot that stood out the me in Everything’s a Text by Dan Melzer and Deborah Coxwell-Teague was “As Janelle’s writing demonstrates, we each have individual histories as readers and writers,” (Melzer and Coxwell-Teague 66). I believe in the excerpt for many reasons. I mainly find truth in this because it explains why everyone has their own writing style. Writers form their opinions based on their beliefs and their own experiences through life. People see things differently from how they were raised and where they grew up and can form a completely original opinion that someone like you and me would have never even thought of. Readers also can relate to this because everyone interprets what they have read differently. People understand literature differently and that is where it is helpful to be open to hear outside opinions on the same material, it could always open your eyes up to something you would have never thought of.

Melzer and Coxwell-Teague stated a second hot spot that stood out to me in this chapter, “It is important to move outside of your experience as you explore your personal literacies,” (68). The passage later goes on to explain that one could do this by doing some research on cultural histories and background. I find this intriguing simply because when I think research I think about finding sources and recording it, but in this case, I begin to think about how I need to change my research process. I see where finding background can make thoughts flow together more because when the background is known, it’s easier to explain why you have arrived at your argument in the first place. Researching is key to any piece you begin to write and this excerpt really stood out to me because it opened my eyes to different ways to go about finding support I will need in future writing.