Journal 11
This chapter is all about trying to find what the writer is trying to say and trying to convey to the reader regarding a certain point and the way in which we dissect their writing to come up with their argument. This chapter talks about finding the provoked argument rather than just debating the thesis that I found very useful as it gives you a sense of conversation with the work rather than just a disagreement of the original idea or the idea of the writer. I found it very useful to when the “they say” is not visibly stated but the thesis is apparent, to decipher from the text what arguments could me made given the thesis and to disagree or agree with the questions or thoughts that may come from the writer’s thesis. In this way it allows more of a conversation with the reader than just telling the reader essentially what the deal is. I have come by a lot of challenging texts when reading different works and I found this section useful as it states to set up the argument in my own words rather than make false accusations on what the writer is trying to say through his or her words and allow for more ideas and counterarguments to flow. Rather than discovering the thesis I found it beneficial with the idea of trying to get a sense of what motivates the thesis and what arguments are hidden within the thesis even if it is the writer’s own view or the one that he or she is challenging themself. This chapter was very beneficial as it gave me a better understanding of dissecting an argument in writing rather than making false claims.
