A huge gap exists between students’ outputs and professor’s expectations when it comes to rhetorical reading. Kant explains that it is common for students to turn in compositions or essays that do not present an original view or problem. Most of these just echo the ideas presented by the textual sources. The writers’ facts are presented as the sole perspective about a particular historical event or issue. Rarely do students write about how such facts were presented by the writer or what influenced write-ups that present variations about the same historical event.
Students’ lack of training in composition and their minimal experience in critical reading can contribute to the difficulty in evaluating textual sources. When students’ read materials that they use as sources for their papers, they immediately make use of skills that they are already familiar with. Identifying main points and summarizing arguments are two of these skills. Going beyond such skills and attempting to look deeper at the text to discover the gaps take more effort. Students need to be trained more on how to go about these methods so that their paper or compositions would yield better results.
Rhetorical reading entails commitment on students to do more with their sources. This means having a plan right from the start. The lack of purpose prevents students from being rhetorical readers. The shortage of skills in critical reading limits their capacity to look beyond the actual work and begin to assess the intentions of the authors. When students’ capacity does not match the expectations, they tend to become more insecure especially when faced with the reality of grades in class. All these are factors that contribute to the lack of rhetorical readers among students.
