Mining Texts in Reading to Write. Occasional Paper No. 29 / Stuart Greene.

Reading and writing are commonly seen as parallel processes of composing meaning, employing similar cognitive and linguistic strategies. Research has begun to examine ways in which knowledge of content and strategies contribute to the construction of meaning in reading and writing. The metaphor of mining can provide a useful and descriptive means for understanding how writers read purposefully to develop discourse knowledge they can use to accomplish composing goals. Pragmatic reading, like mining, is fueled by three strategies that can inform it: (1) reconstruction situation or context; (2) inferring or imposing structure; and (3) identifying choices in language. Constructivist theories of reading, which view comprehension as an active process of composing meaning, can provide a framework for understanding how a sense of authorship can motivate and influence reading. Examples from think-aloud protocols collected from students as they read an argumentative essay with a view to writing one themselves, illustrate how students used the three key strategies, and show how, in mining texts, students conduct an inquiry that informs them about the texts they have read and the ones they can produce. Mining texts is an ongoing process of reading, analyzing, and authoring that recognizes the social nature of discourse. Students gain critical knowledge about the appropriate uses of certain strategies in different situations. If students are to read in the role of writers, teachers must give them opportunities to write. (Sixty references are attached.) (SG)

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