The Theory of Composing
If there is one thing that I have
learned from my WEPO class, it’s that definitions are not set in stone. When I began
this semester, I believed that I had a concrete idea of what various terms that
are used in the English world meant. Genre, writing, and editing were just some
of the key words that I had heard over and over while taking English classes in
secondary school. These terms were drilled into my head since elementary
school, so of course I would know what they mean. I believed that college would
just expand upon these previous definitions, but this class alone has changed
my opinion on what certain words mean.
In my initial blog post, I stated that composing was less detailed and planned out when compared to writing. I stated that a composition could be compared to puzzle pieces and a writing would be the complete puzzle. I now believe the opposite. I believe that writing is not as formal. Writing could be writing a to-do list, a journal entry, or a simple message to a friend. Writing is more comprehensive and inclusive in my eyes, because writing can be literally anything. I now define writing as words that are written or typed. It is anything that is put to paper or posted online. It is informal or formal, planned out or just jotted down.
I would now consider composing the completed puzzle. When I think of a composition I imagine something that has been worked on for a long period of time and perfected to perpetuate a certain message. A composition is detailed and formal. Writing may come before composing, since writing could be as simple as brainstorming ideas for a future composition or creating a draft for a composition.
Editing is the only term that I believe kept its original meaning in my mind. I consider editing to be going over a text and rereading it, then making changes to it based on this reading. Editing can be spellchecking, going over grammar, or completely changing the format of the text; to define it, editing is simply making improvements to something that is written.
I don’t necessarily believe that certain key terms are used to define writing, editing, and composing. I feel like even if you do not study English to the degree that English majors do you still have an understanding or an idea of what each of these terms mean. An average person probably wouldn’t use specific key terms to define these terms, they would just use average vernacular. However, I believe that there are some key terms that some people may associate with these terms, such as audience, genre, purpose, and material. For example, usually when someone is composing or writing they have their audience, genre, purpose, and material in mind. They then allow these key terms to guide their choices when writing.
I don’t think Project 2 shaped my definitions. If anything, I believe Project 2 affirmed my definitions. Since Project 2 was so creative, each of us had different results. This relates back to my definitions of both, writing and composing. We had to write and compose to create our projects for project 2. Project 2 could be considered both, a writing and a composition. It is a writing because I would consider it to be text that includes words that are written. It is also a composition because it was planned out before composing and detailed. My definition of editing was also supported through project 2.
I believe my experiences outside of the course have also shaped my definitions of these terms. I believe my definition of writing is so broad because of our society. The 21st century is very dedicated to social media and the internet. Since we are so dedicated to these new forms of communication our messages are sent in new forms. We now communicate through texts, tweets, posts, and captions. I would consider all of these to be writings, even though they are not the typical writings we would think of when we define writing.
In my initial blog post, I stated that composing was less detailed and planned out when compared to writing. I stated that a composition could be compared to puzzle pieces and a writing would be the complete puzzle. I now believe the opposite. I believe that writing is not as formal. Writing could be writing a to-do list, a journal entry, or a simple message to a friend. Writing is more comprehensive and inclusive in my eyes, because writing can be literally anything. I now define writing as words that are written or typed. It is anything that is put to paper or posted online. It is informal or formal, planned out or just jotted down.
I would now consider composing the completed puzzle. When I think of a composition I imagine something that has been worked on for a long period of time and perfected to perpetuate a certain message. A composition is detailed and formal. Writing may come before composing, since writing could be as simple as brainstorming ideas for a future composition or creating a draft for a composition.
Editing is the only term that I believe kept its original meaning in my mind. I consider editing to be going over a text and rereading it, then making changes to it based on this reading. Editing can be spellchecking, going over grammar, or completely changing the format of the text; to define it, editing is simply making improvements to something that is written.
I don’t necessarily believe that certain key terms are used to define writing, editing, and composing. I feel like even if you do not study English to the degree that English majors do you still have an understanding or an idea of what each of these terms mean. An average person probably wouldn’t use specific key terms to define these terms, they would just use average vernacular. However, I believe that there are some key terms that some people may associate with these terms, such as audience, genre, purpose, and material. For example, usually when someone is composing or writing they have their audience, genre, purpose, and material in mind. They then allow these key terms to guide their choices when writing.
I don’t think Project 2 shaped my definitions. If anything, I believe Project 2 affirmed my definitions. Since Project 2 was so creative, each of us had different results. This relates back to my definitions of both, writing and composing. We had to write and compose to create our projects for project 2. Project 2 could be considered both, a writing and a composition. It is a writing because I would consider it to be text that includes words that are written. It is also a composition because it was planned out before composing and detailed. My definition of editing was also supported through project 2.
I believe my experiences outside of the course have also shaped my definitions of these terms. I believe my definition of writing is so broad because of our society. The 21st century is very dedicated to social media and the internet. Since we are so dedicated to these new forms of communication our messages are sent in new forms. We now communicate through texts, tweets, posts, and captions. I would consider all of these to be writings, even though they are not the typical writings we would think of when we define writing.
Yes, I love your more capacious view of editing!
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