Blog #11

In Kristie Fleckenstein’s article, “Appetite for Coherence,” she describes the necessary role of peer evaluation and reader/writer role acknowledgment for the development of coherence within composition. Coherence is created by the reader, thus the writer must take into consideration both the writer’s perspective but also the reader’s as well. “To be good writers, they must be good readers as well.” The claim that coherence is necessary within a composition refers to the relationships built between ideas that allow for furthered understanding and grasping of the points that the author addresses. Fleckenstein provides a variety of classroom based examples in order to support her claim that not only teachers, but students should be actively involved in the composition and revision process. I personally was a bit confused by the examples as it seemed to disjoint the flow of the article, but I can understand the necessary application and incorporation of them within the article. She proposes that fostering reliance on one’s own judgment rather than the professor’s or thought audience’s will in effect promote coherence within a piece. I appreciate the transitional and linguistic cues that are addressed within the article, but I’m not sure that the actual application of this strategy would be effective without having any personal experience with the process. I do think it is a creative approach for instilling editing/revising skills within inexperienced writers. However, it is evident that ideas and coherence is a necessary and huge component of the composition process.