Adapting A Perspective

In Joseph Harris’s Rewriting chapter “Taking An Approach,” he discusses yet another way of adaptation in writing to make it your own. Harris defines “Taking An Approach” differently than forwarding because it is not using a passage or idea from a previous text, but rather it is rewriting another writer’s mode or style of working. To Harris, rewriting in this manner “offers a sense of what mots drives the work of intellectuals and writers.” In this process, the comprehension and feedback is not in the text but is in the writer. You are supposed to observe and analyze the attitude of a writer, the influences that transform the writing, and the constraints that are acknowledge and responded to.

There are three main types of taking an approach: acknowledging influences, turning an approach on itself, and reflexivity. Acknowledging influences is using a writer’s work as a model. This includes recognizing deep influences, defining how these influences direct your work, and showing how your approach diverges from that of the author. Turning an approach on itself is asking the same questions that a writer asks of others. In order to do this, you must first come to terms with the text, counter it, and then take an approach of your own in order to forward your thinking. When thinking, you must alternate between thinking like the writer and seeing the problems of his or her thinking and then appreciating this use or holding a skeptical view. Reflexivity is noting and reflecting on choices in constructing text. The writer must reflect on the choices that he or she has made in taking a certain approach. It is important to recognize and acknowledge all of the other kinds of influences on your writing. This includes bias which is normally shaped by values and past experiences. 

1. Vulnerability - 2. Finding Strength
An example can of "taking an approach" can be seen in these above two articles. 
In the first article, the writer explains that "by showing people who you are (flaws, quirks and all), and ‘letting them in,’ you’re demonstrating vulnerability in a positive light. You’re asking to be seen." She then uses the the story of Sahil Dhingra, whose article she describes as having a similar theme. She is asking the same questions that he is asking. They both come to the same conclusion on the impact of opening up. They both answer the question of how vulnerability can strengthen you, although they answer it in different ways.