Usually it just goes without saying that English courses involve both reading and writing. But why is that? What is the connection between reading and writing? Well, both involve close attention to language. We read in English classes to increase our understanding of how language works to constitute meaning, and how meaning comes about not just from words on the page but from many other kinds of relationships among subtexts, cultural contexts, and traditions. We read to be more sensitive to the operation of words, and we hope this sensitivity will enable us to be more effective in our own writing (and ultimately more socially responsive and responsible people).

In addition, it is important to remember that what we have read always influences what we are writing, since our reading makes possible new thoughts and ideas that might not have otherwise come about.

What a text really means

Of course we all know what reading is: the practice of interpreting signs (usually letters). But think about how much goes into reading. First you make sense of letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. At each step you are participating in the creation of meaning by bringing your ideas and knowledge into contact with the text itself. You are making sense of things; that is, you are creating something. Thus reading is an energetic activity.

Since you as the reader are involved in creating meaning by interpreting the signs provided by an author, it is important to realize that the meaning of any text is partly your creation. Thus there is not necessarily one right meaning to any text. There might be many right meanings.

You might then feel overwhelmed or discouraged at the prospect of there being no right answers in an English class, or that there are so many possible interpretations, there's no way of evaluating one against another. You might think your instructor just decides, arbitrarily, to give your interpretation an A or a D. How could we ever arrive at consensus in class this way? What are the rules of the game?

Questions like these are very common, in part because they are good questions, fundamental to disciplines like English. Remember though that as you formulate an interpretation of a certain text, you are building an argument not that much different from other kinds of academic arguments. [See Part 3 for more on this.] You need to support the claims you make about a text with evidence from that text. Since the support-claim structure is in place, there really aren't limitless viable interpretations—and thus instructor decisions regarding grades are not as subjective as you might think. For example, I can claim that Hamlet is really a woman, dressing as a man throughout the whole play. But as soon as I try to defend that claim, I find that there is really no evidence in the play to support the argument. Thus my interpretation is not viable.

In fact, it is argumentation structure (which itself implicitly informs our reading practices) that is responsible for our being able to come to some general consensus about what texts mean. That's why, in a class of 30 students, if you all read the same poem and everyone offers their interpretation, there will be some variation, but many people will discover very similar meanings, since they have been taught that they must support their claims. Our brains become very good at rejecting meanings that don't seem immediately supportable. True, there may be no one right interpretation, but there can clearly be some less right ones.

Before you can write an effective argument concerning a given text, you must be able to read that text effectively. That means being able to understand the basic arguments being put forward; recognizing things like symbolism, metaphor and imagery; finding patterns of change and development; and noting moments of parody or irony. Effective reading also means being able to read against the grain to see what meanings a text makes available even if you think they are opposite of what the author might have intended. (Remember that authorial intention should not really figure into your reading.)