What college student´s writing can tell about their reading

Abstract

According to Flusser (1991), the gesture of writing is different from the gesture of speaking. Nevertheless, both gestures reach out for the (conversation) partner. Later, Flusser (2010) claims that the gesture of writing is comparable to the gesture of a goldsmith (either the writer or the editor cuts the material). The present study examines texts written by biology students in their first year (2011) of college (Federal University of Rondônia). The 102 essays analysed here present with many orality marks and little edition signs (review and cutting redundancies). Four text groups are examined here: Once upon a time is the title of 36 narratives, Creative Writing is the group of 28 narratives, Plastic bags is the group of 10 argumentative texts and Tv in the bus is the group of 28 argumentative texts. The switching of speech to the written text makes itself evident in the (1) spelling, (2) agreement, (3) prepositions and reflexive pronouns, (4) filling in of personal pronouns and (5) repetitions. The spellings representing speech, repetitions, odd uses of prepositions and reflexive pronouns and unusual agreements in speech point to low literacy practices. Reading involves pictorial memory: either reading other texts or its own. It seems that one conclusion is that these students do not read in general and do not edit (read) their writings.