With And Against The Grain

   Reading "with the grain"

Reading with the grain means that the reader listens and supports an author's ideas and points and tries to see from the author's point of view. By reading with the grain, one can adopt the author's view and continue to add to or develop that argument.

I believe I read "with the grain" when I was analyzing the lyrics to POWER by Kanye West. I read the lyrics in an attempt to understand his meaning behind the words. I had to listen to the words through Kanye's point of view. Reading his lyrics "with the grain" really helped to analyze his video. It made it simpler to find similarities in the ideas behind the video and the song.


   Reading "against the grain"

Reading "against the grain" means that the reader challenges the author's ideas and point of view. One who reads "against the grain" will have a different belief than the author and will look for counter arguments or points not fully supported by the evidence.

When I was writing a proposal argument on coastal erosion, my argument was that artificial reefs were a more cost efficient and effective method of coastal erosion mitigation than other methods. One of the books I got for research was about saving America’s beaches; however, the book stated that beach nourishment was the best method to stop coastal erosion. I read this book "against the grain" because I challenged the ideas of the author. I did not agree with his points and I looked for flaws in his evidence. I realized that the author only briefly mentioned that beach nourishment was costly, even though it is a serious point to be considered when choosing the best method to stop coastal erosion. Also, I identified that the author failed to mention that beach nourishment only temporarily solved coastal erosion and was not a permanent fix. Reading the book on beach nourishment "against the grain" made it possible for me to strengthen my argument by rebutting the author's argument.