The Reading/Writing Connection

Traditionally, writing and reading have been taught as two separate courses in most universities. However, reading and writing exist only in relation to each other (Cobine, 1997); they are two separate acts that are mutually dependent. As writing and reading have been found to be inter-related, separation of these language skills, may be detrimental to student performance. Writing and reading processes share a common knowledge base and have similar mental operations. Therefore, both native speakers of English and ESL college students can profit from courses which integrate academic reading and writing instruction. Technical text, compared with other types of text, is characterized by being logical, straight forward, and having a narrow range of organization styles. The teaching of writing in English from the approach of reading, therefore, is of particular benefit to science and technology college students for whom English is a foreign language in that the two. processes directly reinforce each other