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And yet standardized test writers seem to think they understand those choices better than the authors themselves.
by TallGuyShort 8y ago
And yet standardized test writers seem to think they understand those choices better than the authors themselves.
- snowwrestler 8y agoCritics have an opportunity to understand those choices better than the authors themselves because critics have the opportunity to look at the work from a different perspective. Just because every bit of writing is a choice, that doesn't mean the author him- or herself fully understood why they made that choice. We're all shaped by our own life experiences, our family, the time in which we grew up, etc. Often, it's easier for a third party to connect those dots. That's why coaching and therapy works, for instance. That said, when we're talking about standardized tests, they tend to (and should be) sticking to pretty well-understood and obvious examples of this sort of thing. And of course, sometimes they're just not well done. Standardized test writers face the same challenges as every other writer, and I think we can guess that the very best writers probably do not end up in that job...
- TallGuyShort 8y agoI'm sorry you completely lost me in the second paragraph. If reading comprehension comes anywhere near connecting an author's life experience to their word choice, then I'll gladly take my 0 and call the whole thing garbage. Sure, coaching and therapy work. They're also fields that churn out massive amounts of pseudo-science when it suits the author's ego.
- Aeolun 8y agoIf I do not understand why I write something, then some critic that cannot see into my mind is hardly going to make a better effort. Anything they said would be mostly speculation.