Reading Response: "Seeing the Text"

Readings On Writing (p. 35-45)

Reading Response

“Seeing the Text” by Stephen Bernhardt

Summary:

In “Seeing the Text,” Stephen Bernhardt attempts to explain the importance of visually appealing texts and how to achieve them.  Bernhardt argues that layout and rhetorical organization are important in creating a visually appealing text. He believes that thus far, this concept has been neglected in schools. However, emerging digital text formats are shedding light on the topic. Bernhardt notes that margins, print, headers, expanded sentences, titles, symbols, punctuation, question-and-answer formats, localized development, and even meaningful white space on a page are all aspects of visual organization. A sample text is included in the article so that Bernhardt can demonstrate certain aspects to readers. He states that there are certainly major differences between visually and non-visually informative texts.

Synthesis:

It is very obvious that this article most strongly relates to McLoud’s article. McLoud created an extremely visually informative text, a comic, to explain the background, reasons, and importance of symbols and icons in reading and writing. Bernhardt’s article is solely based on visual appearance of writing; even the title says, “seeing the text.” Although Bernhardt's article is not a comic strip, he does include a sample, and he explains similar topics through words that McLoud chose to discuss through actual imagery.

Since Greene is the base article for this class, that connection is obvious. In a slight way, I think this article could be related to Elbow’s. Depending on the writer’s topic and choice or organization or visual usage, voice may be implemented. As for the other articles, there is not too great of a connection because they simply explore words and just plain writing. Bernhardt is more on the creative and visual side of the rhetorical construct world.