Responce Blog # 3

Getting Ready to Read
How I get help while writing: I do research with Google & the library. I get feedback from teachers and peers, who recommend changes or find mistakes.

Questions for Discussion
2) I do agree with the theory of "intertext". It is almost impossible to have an idea, or an opinion on a topic that has never before been expressed. Should you really have to cite an opinion if it is your own, but someone else wrote about it before you? Intertext makes it harder for writers to be individual/unique. It is hard to stick out when so many topics have already been written about and so many opinions have so passionately been rehearsed over and over. It doesn't make writers less important, but it does make it harder to have a unique idea/opinion.
3) To Porter, autonomous writing is all about the extent to which writers say things that have already beem said. Texts and topics have been rearranged for hundreds of years- and that's what makes them unique: the ability to twist a topic, or to look at an old topic with a completely new and different outlook.
4) I believe that judging writing based on whether or not it is accepted within the writer's community is almost being close-minded. The success and acceptance of a concept being written about it not just for the niche of the writer to decide. Since sometimes, more often than not, writers are not always a direct product of their surroundings. They write to reach out to the world, not just their comfort zone. Maybe this was just the way that I interpreted this question, but I believe the best writers write to spread their message to everyone, and they do not write with a style that is comprehended by their surroundings only.
5) His writing supports his opinions of intertextuality. Since, he is definitely not the first person to write about it- he must be autonomous, and put his own twist to the topic. Intertextuality has to be true, because somewhere at some point in time he heard about, or read about the topic and he formulated his opinions of the topic and then wrote this article. It would be nearly impossible to cite the exact moment, and person that inspired his opinions and thoughts on the topic.
6) As an individual, it is harmful to write because you are not considering the opinions of others. As an isolated writer, it is harmful because you are not looking at the theories of the topic that have been writen about before you wrote your paper. And I honestly have no idea what is means to write "as a heroic".

Meta Moments
After reading this article, I have realized that it is absolutely impossible to write "completely alone". Since every person you have ever come into contact with, and every experience you have ever had has in some way, shape or form molded you and your opinions on the topic. So as you are sitting there in your dorm, or in Alden you almost have to picture every single person you've ever talked to about the topic sitting there with you whispering helpful hints and thoughts.

Summary
In Keith Grant-Davie's article: Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents, he writes about his theory of intertextuality and original/autonomous writing. By looking at how writers are influenced by their surroundings and their peers, he poses the question: is it really possible to write a paper without plagiarizing since you are using ideas/opinions that have come from your experiences/other readings?

My Own Thoughts
This article really got me thinking about plagiarizing and how you do it without even realizing it because it would be really hard to trace all of your thoughts on a topic because they are all formulated from past experiences. Also, I never really thought about how hard it is to be a unique writer, or to bring a new opinion or thought into a topic because so much has already been written about. This article definitely was useful to me and got me thinking. As a writer, it made me consider how I could make my writing more unique, and my own since any topic I would consider writing about has already been discussed/covered.