A Freewrite: What Composition Studies Is and Why It Matters
What Composition Studies is and Why It Matters
What is composition studies? I don't know for sure. But I think it's "a pastiche of several fields of studies."
Why does it matter? Because everything we do necessarily involves composing; because today's language is so fraught with ulterior motives and we need the act of writing to cut through those motives; and because people fail to do the simple act -- the act of communication -- efficiently.
Whenever I told someone that I wanted to study Composition Studies, the same response I would receive was "What is that?" The term "composition" seems esoteric to them; the term "writing" sounds far more familiar. Generally speaking, composition is writing. "English 101: English Composition," basically is "English 101: Freshmen Writing."
Besides such a laconic reply, I would elaborate a little more (for I believed that the next question would ensue: So, what's there to study?). Composiion studies studies the history of composition (how it came about and developed), how meaning shapes, how writing can be improved, what processes involve in writing, what is the most effective way to teach writing, etc.
On the surface level the elaboration seems to suffice. But as I was trying to write a statement of purpose and a new essay (to be submitted along with applications), several questions poped up in my mind. Of the most prominence were these questions: What the heck is Composition Studies, really? And why does it matter?
What is Composition Studies?
Leafing through the notebook I have been keeping since I was a sophomore, I began to see that composition studies is a pastiche of several fields of studies; most pertinent are literary studies, philosophy, and psychology. Because writing and reading can never be divorced, literary studies -- the studies of how writing should be read -- can never be left out. Because writing is intertwined with thinking, philosophy -- the study of reasoning and logic -- must be intact. Because writing is a cognitive exercise, cognitive psychology -- the study of how mind works -- is crucial.
But does this mean that composition studies cannot stand alone? To be honest I don't know. But I would venture to say, "No, it can't." If stripped off from the aforementioned fields of studies, composition would be rendered as "writing"--writing in the sense that "Just write, write whatever you want, don't care about meaning or organization, etc."
Why Does it Matter?
For me this question seems to be a bit easy to answer. It matters because whatever we do in our lives, we necessarily compose. When you see a tree, you "write" in your mind an association between the definition of a tree and what you see. When you sleep, you "write" a dream, or an unconscious form of a story/narrative. When you make a shopping list, you "write" a list. I underline the word "list" here because it doesn't mean "write a list of what to buy"; rather, it represents your mental process: when writing a shopping list, you are thinking of "what you need," "what you don't have," "why you need them," "how much or how many you need them," etc. A list is not just a list: it is a representation of your comtemplation.
Although composition is around us--most of us don't do it well. So, even the simple of task of making a shopping list seems daunting, can you imagine how difficult and perplexing it would be when we have to deliver a story to another person? Delivering a story involves not just talking to ourselves (like making a shopping list), but it also pertains talking to others. What will I tell them? How will I tell them? What would make the story memorable in their minds? What should I do to acheive my goal in telling them the story I am telling? Why am I telling them? What kind of information can I omit and what kind of it must I make explicit? These are just a small sample of what we should consider. Composition studies tackles these issues -- the issues we face everyday as long as we communicate through the medium called language -- and goes further to try to teach others (primarily students of writing) how to think about them. (Addition: The usefulness of composition studies can be made more tangible when we talk about politics. What do politicians say? How do they say it? Why do they say it? What is omitted, and what accounts for such omission? What stands out in their speech, and why? How does their speech organize, and why is it organize that way? Any reason? What diction is used, and why? What is being said first and later? Why the word "use," instead of "employ"? Critical readers and writers are aware of all these. Hey, but even if we don't study composition, we can be made aware of this!! Critical thinking is embedded in all disciplines. True--but composition studies goes further to teach you HOW TO MAKE SUCH SPEECH so you can acheive your end goal!!)
This entry wouldn't be complete if I forgot to remind you all that composition studies differs from creative writing. The former focuses on the processes, the history, and the issues (academic) writing entails; the latter on how to write novels, short stories, poems, play scripts, etc.
*I apologize if today's entry is marred by grammatical mistakes; it's my intention not to edit and revise it. Also, anything written here is based solely on my understanding of Composition Studies. I will google for some more information.*
| Create Date : 11 พฤศจิกายน 2550 |
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