Visible Language

Despite sharing assumptions about the value of studying and teaching the process of composing, especially the earliest stages of discovery and invention, those teachers and scholars who have come to be known as the “new rhetoricians” are divided on assumptions about the nature of rhetorical art, some holding a vitalist theory of art and composing, other holding a technical theory. The theories influence judgments about what can be taught in the composing process and how it can be taught. The division creates a dilemma for the rhetorician since the durability of the theories and the pedagogical successes of both groups suggests that in some sense both are right.

It is argued that conformity to stereotyped styles of writing tends to conceal a sense of commitment to what is being said. The effect is both to alienate the individual from the practice of writing, and to encourage a kind of obscurantism which may be inimical to clear thinking. The conditions for recovering a committed voice and the benefits of so doing are described.

It is proposed that a major source of writing difficulties arises from a conflict between the goals of expression and presentation. This leads to problems in both generating and revising prose. A case study is presented in which the effect of this conflict is illustrated and some exercises designed to alleviate the problem are described. The effectiveness of these exercises is discussed and related to aspects of self presentation in writing.

Good writing is not, at least in the usual sense, a skill; this is, something that can be taught directly. The basis of good writing is fluency, not correctness. Fluency can only be acquired through play: it is too complex a functioning to be programmed. We learn to speak through play and we should learn to write in a similar fashion. Conversation is the fundamental form of verbal play: it is dialogical rather than didactic, exploratory rather than definitive, the expression of a desire for self-representation rather than of submission to external control. A new, non-prescriptive pedagogy of writing, based on this concept of writing as conversation, is called for. An addendum describes an experimental writing course, Writing from Life, based on a design borrowed from the traditional life-drawing class.

Orderly and straightforward revision, in which editorial tasks are delimited draft by draft, breaks down with lengthy and complex tasks. In rewriting a book, I have had to combine various stages of revision in each draft — adding new material, reshaping thoughts, striving for coherent expression, and polishing prose simultaneously instead of serially. This kaleidoscopic way of working yields unexpected advantages that compensate for its untidy clutter: it helps to maintain the pace of revision, resolves problems left over from previous drafts, and stimulates new ideas and reconsiderations which, at a late stage in the editorial process, come as necessary nuisances.

A top down approach employing protocol analysis can yield valuable data about writing processes. The main features of composition apparent in the data are: writing is goal directed, writing processes are hierarchically organized, some of the processes may interrupt others, recursion is possible, and writing goals may be modified as the result of writing. The first four of these features are embodies in a process model of composition.

This paper examines characteristics of the mental processes required for writing. Comparisons and contrasts are made with the nature of processing required for other cognitive activities such as arithmetic, problem solving, reading, and particularly conversation. Recent research on children’s writing is reviewed that reveals the advantages as well as disadvantages of superimposing writing skills over well developed language skills. This research suggests that it is the inability to access already existing skills which determine the form of language, rather than an absence of such skills, that poses the major obstacle to the development of writing abilities.