The reader’s mark on the page
Original practice source: a commentary about writing in books.
A note in a personally owned book can preserve a question which might otherwise disappear. A reader returns to the marked passage and encounters an earlier response alongside the text. The page becomes a record of reading as well as something to be read.
Marks can also distract a later reader or make one interpretation difficult to see beyond. Not every moment of attention needs to become permanent ink. The value depends on the reader’s purpose and the object’s shared future. A personal copy, a borrowed volume and a copy intended for several users need not invite identical treatment.
A reading magazine is inviting articles on the statement: “Writing notes in a book improves the experience of reading it.”
Write an article for the magazine arguing your view. You may use ideas from the source and your own ideas.
60 exam-style questions on Oxford AQA IGCSE English Language 2.2.1 Writing for audience and purpose. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.