Bernhardt

Before You Read

Thinking about my other classes and the use of images and text, I would have to say that my Media Theory and Studies class does some of this studying. We look at images and see how they relay the information they are trying to get across. When creating a document, visual cues are very important. They help guide the reader and give a visual explanation of what the text is trying to say. 

Summary

In Stephen Bernhardt's "Seeing the Text", he discusses how using images in writing is very important. The audience of this article are teachers because he talks about how you should incorporate visuals and charts into writings. He says that when students are able to see visuals with their writings, they can actually "see the text". In this article, Bernhardt tells us how using images such as charts, graphs, or pictures help people get an understanding of the actual text. 

Synthesis

Because Bernhardt's article talks about the importance of using images, I can compare this article to McCloud's article. Both of these pieces have the same idea of the use of visuals. While Bernhardt focus on the use of graphs or charts, McCloud likes the use of comics and images. Bernhardt's article can also  be contrasted to Allen's article. Allen's article tells us that we need to focus on writing and what inspires us to write. It says that we need to block out all outside sources and only focus on what we know and like. This is different from Bernhardt's article because it is more focused on the other things that help us understand a writing. He tells us that the use of images and other outside things are good and will help in our reading and writing. 

Dialectical Notebook

Response	Quotation
This quote is explaining that when a text has a visual, it bring organization to the paper.	“We can assume that visually non-informative texts achieve rhetorical organization” (pg. 36)
I agree with this quote, I also think that the ‘typical classroom essay’ is usually a boring format that should contain visuals.	“The typical classroom essay is composed of sentences which resemble each other in their full, declarative structure, arranged in paragraphs with low visual identity.” (pg. 36)
I like this quote because I agree that visual texts can have a powerful control over a text.	“it is necessary to look at and think about the achievement of rhetorical control in a visible text.” (pg. 37)
This quote is talking about when you use visuals, you do not have to focus on the details of the paper, but on something else that will help guide the reader in understanding the writing.	“With a visible text, it may not be fruitful to talk about paragraphs in terms of topic sentences and support, or opening and closing sentences, or sentences of transition.” (pg. 41)
I like this quote because I believe that the use of visuals is very important in forming good papers. This should be taught to children at a young age so that they can learn how to successfully write papers.	“At the same time, we can learn from such studies how successful texts are composed and what part schools can play in encouraging students to become able creative composers.” (pg. 44)

After You Read

Scott McCloud would have represented Bernhardt's argument of the use of visuals very well. McCloud also believed that the use of visuals are important when understanding a writing. In McCloud's article, he discussed the importance of using images because they help the reader see deeper into the text. Bernhardt also believed this. He says that visuals such as charts and graphs help the reader "see the text". This means that they get a deeper understanding of the text. 

Thoughts

I liked Bernhart's article because I have always enjoyed having visuals when I am reading. Personally, I learn and understand things better when there is a visual for me to look at. Bernhart supported this by saying that visuals help readers get a better understanding of texts. I am glad this article helped support my theory of how I read and learn.