The Writer Vs The Reader

I got the idea to write about this as I find some articles in Kompasiana with some comments on critical thinking; most of which lead the readers to discuss and argue about their articles.

A discussion would be an advantage in addition to your article if you know exactly what you write about in your article; however, most writers in Kompasiana have no specific background in writing; fortunately, Kompasiana has given the opportunity to people to give useful articles according to their own knowledge. However, this opportunity given by Kompasiana does not always seem a good idea as most writers are only concerned with the area of politics; there’s certainly nothing wrong with writing about politics, but it can be wrong if you only know a slight bit of knowledge about it and you attempt to invite your readers to debate the topic.

Taking ideas from recent phenomena can be a good idea for your article; nevertheless, if you don’t know the actual story of it; you may write something else that you are expert with. Here is a good example of some articles from Kompasiana; Adam Dan Iblis, which is written by Rukyal Basri.

You may have your own style how to write a good article according to your own experience; however, here are my simple tips in how to identify good articles and how to give a good critique of those articles.

For the Writer

1. Aims

A good writer knows what the main purpose of their writing is. They will give a slight picture of their aims in the very first paragraph; the message is clear and understandable.

The main body of the paragraph usually contains the explanation of your article. This also shows how much knowledge you have about the topic of your article.

2. Conclusion

The conclusion will be the most important section of your article. A conclusion usually comes at the end of your article by inviting your readers to discuss and debate it.

A good conclusion describes what you would like to discuss and debate with your readers.

For the Reader

1. Read

Please read carefully first before you add your comments in an article.

2. Comment

Make sure you give comment related to the article you read.

3. Ask and Critique

Asking questions and critiquing the article are different things. This is the most important thing that readers must remember; if you don’t understand the article, but you are interested in it; ask the writer about it with a clear question.

Do not give any criticism or attempt to argue it if you don’t have knowledge about the article.

4. Debate

You may debate the article as long you have enough knowledge of the article’s topic. Give your question and opinion by giving your own knowledge; or even better if you can give a reference so that it can lead the discussion to a better conclusion.

A good conclusion in a discussion can be achieved only by a good debate. A good debate usually results from both parties knowing the topic very well.

DBLN, 22.02-280110