The Reading Writing Connection

The Reading and Writing Connection

I’m sure most of us have heard the saying that a good reader is a good writer and that a good writer is also a good reader. This is indeed true as many educationalists such as Francine Prose (2006) who contended that “reading and writing abilities are complimentary and that growth in one skill inevitably leads to growth in another. Therefore it would seem logical that these two traits would be integrated seamlessly in the classroom. However, for a long time sad to say, this was not the case. Many students including myself were taught reading and writing in isolation. None the less as expected whenever students were asked to write a narrative piece they immediately would adopt a writing style which was similar to their favorite author’s. For instance, at primary school whenever I was asked to write, the imagery I used then were almost identical to the Hans Anderson fairy tales I had read. However I never quite understood why I actually used these images in my writing. What teachers could do is, using the reading writing connection, make students more aware of the reasons why a writer opts to use certain words in their writings. In doing so teachers help students to understand that persons write with a purpose and an audience in mind. This in turn would mean that when students write, they too would be more conscious that what they write is intended to be read by someone. Additionally, on that note, it should be mentioned that many of our students are not given adequate opportunities to actually write with the intention of having their work read. By creating an atmosphere where students are able to write and have their peers at least read or edit their produced work, a teacher ensures that students become more aware of the reading and writing connection which ultimately means that both students reading and writing will gradually improve.