Porter Reading Response

Summary

In "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community" Porter explains that in almost every writing there is some kind of borrowed information. He connects this to the word plagiarism. He wants teachers and their students to see his point of connection. He wants to them to accept his "borrowing" idea. 

Synthesis

Porters article, "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community," relates to Peter Elbow's "Voice in Writing Again.." Porter talks about borrowing information from others and making it your own. Elbow talks about having your own voice in your paper. You must first find your voice to translate others thoughts into your own.

Thoughts

I thought this article had very good points. Students sometimes accidentally plagiarize, but teachers are still harsh with punishment. I ask myself, how are you supposed to write a paper on something you don't know about without "borrowing" information from other sources to learn about/support your topic? I agree with Porter that borrowing information should be more accepted.

Dialectical Notebook

Response	Quotation
Porter is explaining that every text is connected to another text. No one text is original.	“Not infrequently, and perhaps ever and always, texts refer to other texts and in fact rely on them for their meaning” (87).
Porter defines iterability as repeatability and presupposition as assumptions the text makes.	“We can distinguish between two types of intertextuality: iterability and presupposition” (88).
Writers use language and phrases that will apply to the audience. They are writing for the readers expectation.	“That, in essence, readers, not writers, create discourse” (91).
They approve the facts and establish the text and style.	“A ‘discourse community’ is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated” (91).
Porter is describing how to pick the topic of the text and finding “evidence and validity” for the text.	“’Acceptability’ includes, but goes well beyond, adherence to formal conventions” (9).