Theodora Johnson

Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox


s noted in the text Cross Talk in Comp Theory, edited by Victor Villanueva and
Kristin L. Arola, the following statement that writing is a process sounds pretty
obviousthere is a process in getting from mind to page (Villanueva 1) rings true. There
has to be a systematic way to get what we think, what weve read and analyzed, or what we
feel from our minds onto paper. It takes processing to take the thoughts or understandings
that we have and to put them into words that incorporate the right diction, the right tone,
and the right style to fit the purpose and the audience to whom it is directed. Much of the
first portion of the text is made up of theories about the writing process. Theorists such as
Sondra Perl, Donald Murray, Linda Flower and John R. Hayes, and Mina P. Shaughnessy
share their thoughts about the process of writing, about product, and about audience in the
early portions of out text. As we look into their viewpoints, Ill also share views about my
thoughts of the writing process as it applies to my own, well, writing.
When it comes to my writing process, I am a conundrum. I teach writing, or should say,
taught it one way but practice the craft in a different way. The main approach I use when
composing depends on what Im writing, and why Im writing it. For example, while
starting this paper, I am sitting in front of the computer and typing my thoughts as they
come to mind and pertain to this topic. There is some processing going on as I decide what
theories I want to incorporate into the overall product and how I want to word what I have
to say. Other processes Im noting involves the practice Im using to put this paper together.
As I sit here, my fingers fly across the keys as fast as the thoughts come into my mind and
A
Theodora Johnson
Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox
pretty soon, four lines of thought have appeared already. This has not always been my
process for composing papers, however. How I write, now, is another stage in my evolution
as a writerfrom a student writer and creative writer to a writing teacher, back to being a
student writer who is becoming a writing specialist. With the help of some experts in the
field, we will explore some of these stages.
I am pleased with how my process has changed and grown through the years. Even
though Im battling writers block to put this paper together, I can see a marked change in
how I write. When I came back to school as an interim post-baccalaureate student, I tended
to use the same processes I had learned as a high school student and had taught students to
use while I was a high school English teacher. Once the instructor gave the writing
assignment, I pulled these items from my classroom file: a plan page, an outline form, an
introduction page form, and paper to write my rough draft. I would sit and walk through
this process: First, the plan page:








Topic
Subject area 1. ______________________________
Subject area 2. ______________________________
Subject area 3._______________________________
Thesis Statement:
______________________________________________
Introduction:

Theodora Johnson
Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox
I would fill in these components to make sure I would have adequate content to produce a
substantial product and to make sure all the content was aligned with the topic.
After completing the plan page, I would move on the second step, the outline:
The next steps, as I said earlier, would be the rough draft, the revision stage, then the final
draft. Although this process was in line with what Donald Murray says, that the writing
process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting
(Villanueva 4), after going through my old process for a semester, I moved on and
incorporated some new strategies that are more conducive with my limited time frame. I
still write using the three stages, they are just not so time consuming and rigid. During the
prewriting stage now, I just write; I bypass the plan page and the outline stages and start
with the drafting stage. While drafting, I dump all the thoughts and research on the page,
then I backtrack after each paragraph and read it aloud to make sure it is coherent, stylistic,
and grammatically correct. When I have reached a stage of completion of the first/rough
OUTLINE
IDEOLOGY OF HAIR AND BLACK WOMEN FROM THE VIEW OF GOOD HAIR
I. INTRODUCTION: Actor/comedian Chris Rock set off a time-release bomb of rhetoric in communities across
America and other parts of the world with his movie/documentary Good Hair. He probably never considered
himself to be seen as a rhetorician, but through this movie, he has brought a worldwide view to one of the most
controversial ideologies of this country and our culture, and his audience is talking about it. The very title of the
movie was enough to raise the proverbial kitchens of many a black womans hairs on the back of her neck.
Commentaries about the movies subject matter that started with an innocent questionDaddy, why dont I
have good hair? from his teary-eyed daughterare showing up in magazines, blogs, Facebook statuses, in hair
salons and barber shops. People are talking about good hair. What is good hair? Where did the concept of good
hair come from? Why is this golden fleece such an obsessive quest for so many African-American women?
How did it rise to its hegemonic status in the Black community? In his quest to find the answer to these
questions, Mr. Rock has stirred up a hornets nest, but in the midst of all the buzz, did he find an answer for his
daughter and the other daughters of the Diaspora?
II. THE IDEOLOGY DISPLAYED TO SELL THE IMAGE
III. THE QUEST FOR GOOD HAIR(weave, lace-front wigs)
IV. THE THEORY OF SELF HATRED
V. STRAIGHT HAIR VS. NATURAL(NAPPY) HAIR
VI. THE BARBIE IMAGE
VII. THE INDIAN HAIR CRAZE
VIII.
IX. TESSAS DILEMMA
X. ROCKS DISCOVERY




Theodora Johnson
Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox
draft, I print off the paper and read the entire document with my editors eye then I ask a
peer to edit it also to get a second opinion. After thats done, I re-type my final draft.
Graduating into the digital age is an entity that also has helped restructure my
writing process. Although I am a digital immigrant, being able to sit in front of the screen
and type the words makes the process so much smoother. Word processing allows me or
any writer the opportunity to copy, cut, paste, store not only the document but also any
data or research that needs to be embedded into the document. Using this digital resource
allows me to dump all my thoughts on paper and then weed out what I want to keep and
embed what I want to add. Having these options available allows me to understand what
Linda Flower and John Hayes ask in their article A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing:
What guides the decisions writers make as they write?
How do writers actually go about choosing diction, syntactic and organizational
patterns, and content? Kinneavy claims that ones purposeinforming,
persuading, expressing, or manipulating language for its own sakeguides
these choices(Villanova 253).

After dumping words on the page, I go through this cognitive process. While I read
through each paragraph in the revision stage, I am guided by the purpose of the document
when determining my word choices, syntactic structure, and content. As far as
organizational structure, thats guided by the purpose of the document as well. For a
persuasive paper, I would start with my strongest selling claim, add supporting arguments,
and end with a strong closing statement; for a narrative, I would organize the story based
on the five Ws and H and check for the correct sequence. If it is business communication, I
would be cognizant in making sure I use the RTAA Format. The purpose for the document
would also guide my word choices and languagewhether to use formal language and
Theodora Johnson
Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox
heightened-style diction or whether to use more casual style in the document. All these
fixes would occur in the reviewing and revision process of my composing.
Writing processes evolve over time as the writer evolves. My process has definitely
evolved, and I feel that Im a better writer for it. I dont feel as overwhelmed and bogged
down when I write using this new process that Donald Murray talks about. I still write with
a finished product in mind, but the streamlined process I now use makes composing a
sweeter race.




Theodora Johnson
Composition Theory
Writing Style
Dr. Earnest Cox
Bibliography
Villanueva, Victor and Kristin L. Arola, Ed. Cross Talk In Comp Theory. Urbana, Illinois: National
Council of Teachers of English, 2011.