In Charles Bazerman’s “Writing Expresses and Shares Meaning to be Reconstructed by the Reader”, he claims that meaning is how we communicate our thoughts and feelings. Sharing meaning allows the reader to connect to the piece and share information with others. The reader never knows what the writer is actually thinking so it is important to have a purpose. Bazerman explains that meaning is sometimes left out because the author has fears of how their writing will be received. Writers need to be aware of the needs of the reader so they can best express meaning.
An example of a time when my writing has not been received as I intended was an essay I wrote in middle school. We were assigned an essay about the Civil War and I had mistakenly used quotations in a way that sounded sarcastic. My teacher was upset with me and I had to explain that the tone in which she read it was off and I never meant anything bad by it. As a result of this, I always make sure the tone of my writing and use of quotations are clear and understandable. It is important to know that readers reconstruct meaning in writing so we as writers can adjust and give our writing clear intentions.
