Philosophy of Composition

Contrasting different theories of composition, James Berlin writes that for the New Rhetorics “[t]ruths are operative only within a given universe of discourse” (246). I highlighted that comment along with a later Berlin quote of Ann E. Berthoff stating “The way we make sense of the world is to see something with respect to, in terms of, in relation to something else” (246). These quotes brought to mind a practice of using metaphor in writing.

The goal of writers should be to contribute to an ongoing dialogue of truth for the consideration of an intended audience. This truth will come in the form of an inner voice representing the author’s thoughts and ideas. The author should strive to communicate their perspectives and viewpoints through clear and concise language so that the information they present becomes knowledge for their audience.

In an attempt to have audiences consider a viewpoint, many authors of scholarly writing use the term lens, as in viewing a particular situation through the lens of political, cultural, or any number of other influences. Attempting to explain the context of a situation, writers have also used the term framing, as in framing an argument within certain boundaries for discussion purposes. Both of these terms refer to acts associated with photography, which captures a moment in time and ultimately frames what was once seen through a lens. By using these terms, authors hope to communicate what is seen in their mind’s eye through their own viewpoint and put it into context for their audience.

Another common metaphor employed by authors is envisioning the building of a structure sometimes starting with a solid foundation and possibly ending with the detailed woodwork of a finishing carpenter. Other metaphors include comparison to a canvas for painting or a tapestry of woven fabric. All of these methods base their comparison on a similar act of crafting an object with the goal of a final product as an outcome. This practice can be traced back to the Platonic and Socratic practice of discussing episteme (knowledge) and techne (craft) (see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

Writing for me has never been a linear process easily defined by the stages of “pre-writing, writing, and re-writing” (Flower and Hayes, 255). My development process is more recursive with thoughts occurring at random times during the day – while driving to work, mowing the yard, or walking the dog. Moments of contemplation away from reading and writing enable time of contrasting, comparing, and meaning making. One of my challenges is having the ability to immediately write down what comes to mind or hold the thoughts until I am able to do so.

While I’ve never been a teacher of writing, I’ve been a student of writing for as long as I can remember. The earliest “formal” writing that I can recall occurred in grade school and consisted of writing papers or book reports either on specific topics supplied by teachers or on topics of my own interests. As I presume many beginning writers might also experience during these early stages of writing development, I struggled searching for the “right” way to express my personal feelings of what I thought about any particular subject. I can now look back and recognize that I lacked the confidence, self-esteem, and personal value held by my inner voice. That doubt stayed with me until I enrolled in a first year composition course at a community college about ten years after graduating from high school.
Surely, ten years of maturity added some confidence to my voice, but my English professor shared with me the idea that what I thought was really all that mattered. She explained that while my thoughts might align with the same ideas that others had, it was my personal experience in life that gave me a unique perspective that I could present through my writing. She shared with me the concept that as long as I could explain and justify why I felt the way I did or how I had arrived at certain conclusions, I could never be “wrong” when writing.

I was recently pointed toward an article by Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle in which they state, “we have not yet imagined moving first-year composition from teaching “how to write in college” to teaching about writing — from acting as if writing is a basic, universal skill to acting as if writing studies is a discipline with content knowledge to which students should be introduced” (553). So, from the readings this week, recollections from my own cognitive “long-term memory” (Flower and Hayes, 256), and knowledge from recent research, I would have to say that my philosophy of composition is developing to be something resembling the following:

I would enjoy contributing to in pedagogical mentorship providing students with both a theoretical basis and practical skill sets to prepare them for their journey as developing writers throughout their studies and professional lives. Learning about writing theory will provide the foundation for understanding the research and body of knowledge residing behind the development of writing as a discipline, while exposure to tools and techniques will enable them to implement the processes and craft to create meaning and communicate knowledge to an audience.