A handout about Text-Wrestling.

The good news is that you have already been doing text-wrestling responses when you follow these steps:

1) Tell your reader what the essay is about. As you explain, using your own words, be careful to be very specific.
Each sentence you offer should include specific details. You might also pin down what the author’s reason for
writing was. What do they want to show their readers? What is the point they are trying to make? What made them
sit down and write this essay? Be specific.

2) Engage. Offer your own thinking on the subject matter. Do you agree with the author's conclusions? The
choices they made? What ought to have gone differently? What causes for the situation they experienced,
can you identify? What observations do you want to make? What conclusions do you want to draw? Assert
your own thinking.

Now let’s talk about the technique further.

 
"Text-Wrestling" is one name for the kind of writing where an author responds to (or wrangles with) another
author's ideas. Writers " text-wrestle" because they have something to say. In its natural setting (not assigned by one
or another well-meaning instructor) you would be reading the newspaper one day, or a collection of essays, and you
would startle at something you read. You realize you have something to add to the subject. Perhaps the author left
out an important perspective, or her ideas were only partly right, or downright wrong, or simply not true in all cases.
You decide to pick up your pen and write down your own ideas. (Note: Agreeing is not enough of a reason to write
about a text. Your reader might as well just read the original text instead of yours).
 
But before you write your own ideas, if another person is going to read what you are about to write, they will need to
glimpse the original text that got you thinking. Begin by summarizing the original author's points. Then respond.
 
These are the steps to constructing a fully-formed Text-Wrestling essay:
 
1.   Your first line tells your reader who wrote the text, and it advances some of the author's credentials. (Is the author a
credited psychologist? Or some guy who lives upstairs from your mother?) Then, paraphrase the author's idea. Sum
it up in your own language. Zero-in on the point the author made that you want to respond to. (You are not setting
out to paraphrase the author's entire essay here. The point you intend to respond to is probably located in a single
paragraph).
 
2.   Quote from the text. Your reader needs to see you summarized the author's point accurately. Also, this is a great
opportunity for your reader to "see what you are talking about " for themselves. Allow your reader to confront the
text in the same way you did. Quote a line that shows the author's idea clearly, or their lack of knowledge, or their
tone.
 
3.   Transition into your response. React to the idea you pin-pointed. Tell your reader what you think. (Make statements).
 
4.   Back up your statements. Use examples, or statistics, or render up your own experience as proof. Show your reader
you know what you are writing about.
 
My example of a short text-Wrestling paragraph:
 
Dr. Fumati, a self-proclaimed "expert" on the key to happiness, claims that in order to be happy, we must disregard
the needs of others. She would have us elbow our way to the head of the line, guiltlessly parade ourselves past
homeless people while sipping ten dollar bottled water, and say "me me me" without regret. She urges us to
"recognize energy drains" in order to avoid them. Such as the needs of our families, Dr. Fumati? The pesky roaches
in the kitchen won't kill themselves, the paperwork in the office won't process itself, the kids don't just buck up and
change their own sheets in the middle of the night. Life IS an energy drain. And it is the areas of our lives that
require the most of our energy that often prove the most rewarding.
 
My example of a text-Wrestling paragraph with its parts labeled:
 
Dr. Fumati, a self-proclaimed "expert" on the key to happiness, (I have named the author and given his
credentials) claims that in order to be happy, we must disregard the needs of others. (I have paraphrased the point
his essay makes). She would have us elbow our way to the head of the line, guiltlessly parade ourselves past
homeless people while sipping ten dollar bottled water, and say "me me me" without regret. (I enjoy good
examples. I am further clarifying the author's point). She urges us to "recognize energy drains" in order to avoid
them. (There is my direct quote). Such as the needs of our families, Dr. Fumati? (That line transitions to my
response).The pesky roaches in the kitchen won't kill themselves, the paperwork in the office won't process itself,
the kids don't just buck up and change their own sheets in the middle of the night. Life IS an energy drain. And it is
the areas of our lives that require the most of our energy that often prove the most rewarding. (My response with
reasons).