Literacy Narrative

Literacy Narrative
Polett Rothenbucher
The University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301
February 13, 2015
Paul LaPrade

Literacy Narrative

During my whole life Ive been surrounded by reading and writing, and Ive learned to
enjoy it ever since I was young. I always remember reading those entertaining picture books that
my teacher read us; she will have us draw a picture and write a small summary of what the story
was about. However, when that era ended and I went from children books to chapter books, I
since then had no interest to read and write foolish book reports and advanced summaries. In my
past experience reading and writing later became my least favorable subjects to work with.
However I was then impacted by one book in where it made me notice that I was wrong about
both of these subjects; since then it helped me grow my writing skills encouraging me to write
my own story and become a better writer.
This book is not a long chapter book you have to read for a class in where you have to
write a report. This book is a fictional book known as a manga, a Japanese novel sort of like a
comic book. When I was in the sixth grade I was introduced to manga and by just reading one
simple manga called Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion, this manga became my literacy
practices, sponsoring me to create my own story and letting myself flow with my imagination by
becoming persuasive. By reading this novel it made me realize that reading and writing can be
interesting and Ive noticed that these authors where very rhetoric about having to create such an
amazing story. Reading this one book lead me to enjoy reading much more than ever! When I
finished reading all of the volumes that this manga had in two days, at that moment it made me
realize how fun and joyful it was to read something that I truthfully enjoyed. Even now as a
college student I still happen to read all of the Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion volumes
over and over again never getting tired of it. As a college student Im going to explain how one
book became an object that helped me want to improve my writing skills and also how it relates
to my experiences with helpful articles that explain on how to become a better writer.

Literacy Narrative

Reading the article Sponsors of Literacy by Debrah Brendt, she explains how one person
can become more literate when it comes to reading and writing. Having to read this article I saw
that reading can make a big impact to a writers life. A focus on Sponsorship can force a more
explicit and substantive link between literacy learning and systems opportunity and access
(Brandt, Deborah, pp. 48). Brandt explains that anyone can have opportunities when it comes to
literacy and how one writers life can change when being impacted by reading and becoming
more literate. Likewise, for me, reading one manga made me become more literate making me
realize that reading is not as bad as I thought, encouraging me to become a writer. Many people
say that reading picture books, comic, manga, etc. is not reading but a way of scanning through
mere pictures. However I disagree, I believe that anything that has random writing is reading and
can make an impact to any persons life.
In articles Superman and Me by Alexie Sherman and Revision Startegies of Student
Writers and Experienced Adult Writers by Nancy Sommers, they relate to my experiences as a
writer and how literacy came to my life, how I manage to use these experiences, and how it
changed my perspective about reading and writing. For example in Superman and Me, Alexie
mentions how his experiences as a Native American faced segregation issues. However he tells
his story about how reading books to Superman comics, helped him realized that he is much
greater than what people say about him due to his race. I refused to fail. I was smart. I was
arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely open my eyes open.
(Sherman, Alexie p. 111). Literacy made a huge impact on Alexie, making him open up his
curiosity and passion in reading and writing, As Alexie, I too am opening up my curiosity in both
subjects due to my interest in manga and the kinds of stories I would love to create.

Literacy Narrative

This article made me see how it relates to my experiences ever since I was little. Children
books was one of my favorite things to read when I was young, especially when writing and
drawing the main idea; but as I was growing up and was introduced to chapter books and long
book reports it no longer became my favorite thing to do. I always believe that if reading was
fun, why cant we read and write whatever we want? Cant we write about anything we want? As
students, I think that writing about anything we like, tend to become more rhetoric in our papers,
not caring about punctuation, grammar, and how our sentences should look like or sound etc.
Being introduced to the manga Code Geass, Lelouch of the Rebellion, I have noticed that reading
this story encouraged me to read every single volume until the ending. Having to read this
manga, it made me feel happy, angry, and sad, something that is most common to have when
reading any type of book. Just like any other book, emotions were flowing inside of me, making
me feel what the characters felt and experience the journey they had gone through. The story
captivated me by helping me think What if I can create my own manga, with my own story?
thinking this, made me interested to become an artist and author of my own manga.
When I started planning my story, I brainstormed step by step of what I wanted to include
in my story. Likewise in article Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experiences Adult
Writers by Nancy Sommers, she explains in her article how to use invention in your writing.
The linear model bases itself on speech in two specific ways. First of all is based on traditional
rhetoric models, models that were created to serve the spoken art of oratory. In whatever ways
the parts of classical rhetoric are described, they offer stages of composition that are repeated
in contemporary models of the writing process (Sommers, Nancy, pp. 578), Sommers made a
great point on how to properly start writing, something that helped me when I started to plan my
own manga story and how to become rhetoric by the use of the writing process. I remember

Literacy Narrative

having to do a lot of brainstorming because I wanted to get the storys main focus, its main thesis
and be organized. From then until now Im thankful to invention since it helped me create my
own little writing process map.
As a college student I know that I need to write and learn more on how to become a
better writer. If I want to finish my own story, how do I expect to finish it and make it a great
story if I do not learn the process of becoming a better writer? As I am reading more about
writing and its importance, I am thankful to have writing in my life because it is something I
need to have to help me grow my skills, now that I want to become an author for my own story.
Reading different articles about writing helps me learn about the different techniques I can use
when I am writing a paper, but also when I am writing my story. As I am learning more about
writing, I am also growing as a writer.

Literacy Narrative

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Sources

1. Alexie, S. (1997). The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me. Bedford St. Martin
(2nd Edition) Writing about Writing: A College Reader (pp.128-132). Boston.
2. Brandt, D. (1998). Sponsors of Literacy. Bedford St. Martin (2nd Edition) Writing about
Writing: A College Reader (pp.128-132). Boston.
3. Sommers, N. (1980). Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult
Writers. Bedford St. Martin (2nd Edition) Writing about Writing: A College Reader
(pp.128-132). Boston.