What Do You Know about Reading and Writing?

The rhythmic blinking of the black cursor in contrast to the blank white screen hypnotizes you. Or maybe the faint blue horizontal lines of the notebook—so many of them—entrance you. You hear music or a fan or maybe the motor of an espresso maker sitting in this coffee shop or library or on your bed. You’re here to write an assignment for a class, a ritual you’re used to from last month when you were in high school or one you barely remember from decades ago, and this task fills you with optimism and excitement or dread and loathing or something in between.

You’ve been staring at that cursor or those blue lines for about ten minutes now, but you’re drawing a blank. You’re losing it now, hearing voices from the past. . .

"Never say I in a research paper."

"A thesis needs to be supported by three points."

"Don’t (I mean, do not) use contractions (darn it, I just said I, too)."

You are not beginning your college career a clean slate, especially when it comes to writing; you bring a lot of prior knowledge like the statements above—including some better advice and experiences, I hope. In this chapter you’ll discover ways to examine and build upon your previous literacy experiences in order to grow as a writer.