The Definition and Purpose of Reading and Writing (Roughly)

The purpose of reading is to understand the message(s) and theme(s) the writing is trying to convey, putting those ideas into context (i.e. the time and place he/she lived in and so on) and having a broad understanding of the subject the writer is writing on. This includes reading other works done by opposing thinkers, and so on. Once one has a grasp of all messages, themes, motives, philosophical view points, and so on, the reader can now objectively attempt to analyze these works and develop a solid understanding, and opinion involving the subject(s) presented. Once this has occurred, the reader can now write specifically, cite ample examples, and objectively assess the subject. This is an idealistic way of reading and writing. However, this is not always the case. It is almost impossible to obtain all the information of a given subject, one must always fill in the gaps with somewhat opinionated information, or "educated guessing". This is why the vast majority of news organizations tend to have a slant towards a specific political affiliation, or other collective groups. Regardless, the purpose of reading is to understand, interpret, and think critically. The purpose of writing is to express one's own beliefs, while citing examples, and furthermore valid counter examples, and maintaining an objective approach to knowledge of the subject(s).