Seeing Is Writing

INTRODUCTION

seeing: As far as these lessons go, seeing means going beyond the surface features of a text and trying to articulate an understanding of what an image might mean.

Everyday language is filled with visual metaphors, and these idioms help people articulate their ability to read a situation, person, or event as well as to express their understanding of something that is not necessarily clear on the surface.

METAPHORS I see the writing on the wall I’ll believe it when I see it I see the light Wait and see I see what you mean Picture this Let me show you Seeing is believing

Part of seeing as a writer is to learn to read critically and to observe carefully.

Critical Reading: 1.Analyzing text for overall meanings and effects 2.Breaking down its structure in order to better understand each part 3.To explore the relationship of each part to the whole 4.Is there a historical context?

Making Observations: 1.A statement that can be verified by pointing to specific evidence in the text 2.A neutral, nonjudgmental, and verifiable statement 3.Ask yourself, “What do I see?”

Response #1: Jot down several observations about the photograph Joel Sternfeld’s “Warren Avenue at 23 rd Street, Detroit, Michigan, October 1993”

Inferences: 1.An intellectual leap-from one what one sees to what those details might suggest 2.Restrict your inferences to what the verbal or visual text presents

Response #2: Jot down a few inferences about the photograph. Joel Sternfeld’s “Warren Avenue at 23 rd Street, Detroit, Michigan, October 1993”

Now, consider how you might apply the same process of making careful observations to a verbal text. Read the handout entitled “Dumbstruck,” from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, a Pulitzer Prize winning collection of observations of nature.

Response #1 Jot down several observations about Dillard’s selection

Response #2 Jot down several inferences about Dillard’s selection

frame: To construct by fitting parts into a whole; to design, shape, construct; to put into words, to formulate; to contrive, to enclose in a frame or as if in a frame.

point of view: The angle of vision, the perspective, from which writers see and present a subject. This perspective may be expressed, simply and literally, as the physical stance they establish in viewing a subject. In writing, point of view may also be revealed through the tone of voice or attitude that the writer expresses in addressing a subject.

context: The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or image and helps to determine its meaning; the interrelated conditions within which something exists or occurs (environment or setting). can be sociocultural or historical

What do you see?

It can be difficult to determine what is not included in an image or in an essay, but occasionally what is excluded can be more important than what you see. Consider, for example, Dorothea Lange’s famous photograph of a migrant mother and her children.

What do you see?

Notice what happens when the same images are framed in a different way.

Response #1 What are the effects of Lange’s decision to focus on the faces of her subjects rather than to take their picture from farther away?

Response #2 How do these framing choices change Lange’s point of view?

Response #3 What might the historical context or sociocultural context of this series be?

Other Context Questions to use when writing and reading…

Writing Assignment: See handout entitled Dorothea Lange Look at the photograph you have chosen. Pay attention to details. Write a brief summary of what you see, and try to connect the photograph to a historical context or, at the very least, to a socio- economical context.

Who wrote the text or produced it? What is known about the person? This affects your interpretation or analysis of a piece.

For example, read the following poem by William Carlos Williams The Red Wheel Barrow so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

Response #1 What is this poem about? Give your general impression.

Now, here is a context clue about the author. William Carlos Williams was a doctor who was treating a seriously ill child when he looked out the window and saw the red wheel barrow.

Read the poem again… The Red Wheel Barrow so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

Response #2 Write down your impression now that you know the circumstances under which the poem was written.

Who is the audience for a particular text, and how would that influence the way in which an author created the text? Identifying the audience is important because certain audiences bring or have certain expectations.

How to Identify your Purpose and Audience Upon communicating with your audience, your end purpose should not be what you want to do; instead, it should be what you want your audience to do as a result of your communication. You want your audience to act and to react in some way. Communicating involves the audience. Effective communication is achieving this purpose, and to communicate effectively you must adapt to your audience, meaning you must know your audience.

For example, who is the intended audience for this?

Effective writing begins with careful observation, and composing is a recursive process of seeing and writing.

recursive: From the Latin recursus, to run back. A term to describe a process of writing in which the writer loops back to a preceding point in order to move forward with an idea.

The Writing Process Choose a subject Identify a purpose Develop observations and make inferences Generate a thesis Brainstorm, free-write, or outline Draft essay Revise essay