Blakely's+thoughts+about+composition

In some ways Ray's article was very similar to a lot of the other reading we've done in this class: she discusses writing as part of the communication process and emphasizes the importance of writing regularly. She also points out the difference between artificial writing that students do because they have to and authentic writing students do because they want to express themselves. Ray distinguishes this type of writing as "composition" rather than merely writing things down or filling things out. Across the board, people (myself included) seem to agree that composition is the sort of writing we want to encourage our students to do.

But Ray's article resonated with me more than a lot of the things we've read so far this semester. First, I agree wholeheartedly with Ray's observation that writing is something we do, and that it is important in and of itself. Writing is hard work, especially when the goal is to produce something well-written, as opposed to simply writing something down.

I have had great success with writing workshops, largely because they are a space in which I can focus on writing: my own and those of the other group members. Critiquing writing as writing - not as a memo or a letter or a paper or any other text designed to do some kind of "work" - allows me to focus on language and tone and pacing and content. It's different to write or edit a document that's supposed to "do" something than it is to write or edit a document that's just supposed to be well-written and interesting on its own terms.

I like the idea of giving students time and space to write, to share their writing, comment on each other's writing, and polish their writing, as an end in and of itself. Given a choice, that's how I write, so why wouldn't my students enjoy the same thing?

In contrast, Yancy's article about 21st century writing seems to be celebrating (advocating?) a very different kind of writing. Yes, the PC has made it easier to write (and edit and save and share one's writing). And yes, there are some interesting new kinds of communication happening thanks to the Interwebs.

But I agree with Ray (and, incidentally, with an observation Yancy makes early in her article) that composition is hard work, because it involves writing, reflecting, and re-writing. So-called "new literacies" may be encouraging people to communicate more broadly, but communication is different from composition. In my opinion, even if more people are writing, not that many of them are truly composing: most blogs are poorly written (and not widely read); most tweets and facebook posts are little more than notes or reports about mundane things; even the "neo-journalism" we see more and more relies more on the availability of cell phone cameras and authentic "on the spot" eyewitness accounts than on excellent prose.

There are, of course, notable exceptions. Sites like Hyperbole and a Half are (IMHO) actually using technology to experiment with composition. After reading Ray's article - especially in light of Yancy's piece - I believe students can learn to do "life writing" by focusing on composition, but they can't learn composition by doing life writing. Tweeting, facebook posts, even blogging won't help students learn to use language more effectively or communicate better. Giving students the space and time to write and edit for in a concentrated way is the how we can help students become better writers.