The following statement by contemporary writer Stephen King is worth revisiting: ‘If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others, read a lot and write a lot.’ American poet Charles Bernstein echoes King’s claim when he states, ‘To create good writers you need to create good readers. There is no shortcut.’ Both writers affirm the importance of reading and writing and their interrelated nature. Often cited as two separate activities, reading and writing are strongly connected. In fact, deep reading is known to enable writing and writing undoubtedly has the capacity to facilitate deep reading.

This critical relationship between the two essential elements of reading and writing is demonstrated regularly in English classrooms as students interact with existing texts in productive ways. The merging of acts of reading and writing in the copying out of sections of quality text is a perfect example of this interaction. Copying another writer’s words without making any alterations, seems absurd. Yet, students’ responses to this exercise invariably suggest that it is a powerful and enjoyable reading and writing experience. In slowing down and reading a small section of writing with intense focus, the text’s stylistic features are often noted in ways that enrich students’ understanding of the way language works. This reading-via-writing activity engages students in both active reading and purposeful writing. Whether it be Year 7 writing out a section from Morris Gleitzman’s novel Once or Year 12 copying a paragraph from Albert Camus’ The Stranger, the resonances and rhythms deep within words, the sense of syntax or word order, and the connectivity with language and meaning becomes more clearly apparent.

Year 12 are currently studying poetry as part of their HSC English course. The Advanced students are exploring the wonderful poetry of the twentieth century poet T.S. Eliot. In today’s lesson, I will be asking the class to copy out a section from Eliot’s poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Students will then be invited to highlight key words and phrases and to use these to create their own composition. The intention here is to keep ideas moving, looking at the text from new angles and actively engaging with it, so that every reading becomes a remaking, and every engagement creative. Many of our finest writers imitate the writing of others. They frame and recycle words and phrases to enable creativity to flourish. This writing-via-reading activity is an excellent strategy to promote writing confidence and competence.

Mrs Clare Murphy

English Coordinator & Literacy Instructional Coach