Group 2:

Perspectives
on
Writing
Reporter:
START!
LORAINE L. GAMMAD
 TOPIC: Understanding Composition

Definition

What is the purpose of composing?

Difference between Writing and Composing

Composing Processes
•Prewriting
•Writing
•Rewriting

Types/Modes of Composition Writing

“Teaching writing is like teaching a version
of reality and the student’s place and mode
of operation. But many teachers focuses
only on imparting a mechanical skill where
they prepare students in advancing them in
their professions.”

—James Berlin (1982)

NEXT!
 DEFINITION

●Composing is the act of writing- act of making meaning that involve three
stages- planning, formulating and revising .

●In literary sense, a composition (From the Latin word “to put together” is the
way a writer assembles words and sentences to create a coherent and meaningful
work.

●In writing, composition refers to the way a writer structures a piece of writing.

●There are four modes of composition: description, narration, exposition, and

argumentation.
 Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories
, Berlin, J. 1982

Neo-Aristotelian (Classical) Rhetoric

Current – Traditional (Positivist) Rhetoric

Neo-Platonic (Expressionist) Rhetoric

The New Rhetoric

 Neo-Aristotelian (Classical) Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and
other compositional techniques. – Source: Google

 Truth is located in the rational operation of the mind

This theory takes the audience seriously as a force to be considered in shaping the message.

Aristotle stated that reality can thus be known and communicated, which language serving as the medium of
discourse.
Syllogistic reasoning (syllogism)- a system of logic that Aristotle himself developed and refined.

The purpose of rhetoric is to allow a speaker to not only discover Truth but to persuade others of this truth
through a direct communication.
SYLLOGISM
Major premise: All humans are mortal.

Minor premise: All Greeks are human.

Conclusion: Therefore, all Greeks are mortal.

Note: If the sentence or idea is unreal, then it is called fallacy.

Example:
All horses are animals.
Some dogs are not horses.
Some dogs are not animals.
.
 Current-Traditional(Positivist) Rhetoric

Truth is located “in the correct perception of sense impressions”.

It demands that the audience be as objective as the writer; both shed personal and social
concerns in the interests of an unobstructed perception of empirical reality.

 All knowledge comes from sound thought proceeding from direct sense observations.

Common sense

Students are encourage to embrace a view of reality based on science and psychology.
 Neo-Platonic (Expressionist) Rhetoric

Truth is located “within the individual, attainable only through an internal apprehension.

The audience is to check the false notes or inauthentic expressions and help detect error, but it is
not involved in the actual discovery of truth- a purely personal matter.

Truth must be based on internal, individual experience because the material world is unreliable.

Focuses on error-correction instead of expressing truth

It emphasizes the idea that students learns to write but cannot be taught to write like dialogues to
purge what is false from the self.
 The New Rhetoric

Truth is dynamic and dialectical, the result of a process involving the interaction of opposing
elements.

Has its roots in cognitive psychology where knowledge is a relation that is created , not pre-
existent and waiting to be discovered.

Truth is impossible without language since it is language that embodies and generates truth.

The understanding of language precedes understanding of truth or knowledge, and since

language shapes thought, language determines what may be understood.

It views writers as creating meaning and shaping an understanding of reality.

What is the purpose of composing?
 To inform 1

 To entertain

 To explain

 To persuade

Composition and writing allows people to convey

ideas, feelings, emotions, political views,
arguments, and many other form of communication.
 Difference between Composing and Writing

Composing is when you take basic elements to arrange something. It is the proportion of different
parts to make a whole.

Writing is the action of adding text after thoughts and ideas are composed. It uses symbols such
as letters that express some meaning.

Although both areas have to do with thinking, drafting, revising, and editing; composition takes on
a more creative , personal tone. According to Silva and Matsuda (2001), composition should
reflect a personal and individual self which is what makes a writer a composer.
 Composing Processes

The process through which the writer passes to produce an effective piece of writing varies with the writer and
the writing task, this is to describe the process through which most effective writers pass most of the time.

PREWRITING
Collect. Effective writing requires an abundant inventory of specific , accurate information. Information is
collected through reading, interviewing, observing and remembering.

Connect. The writer plays with the relationships between pieces of information to discover as many patterns
of meaning as possible.

Rehearse. The writer uses writing to explore and move toward meaning to discover the voice and the form
that will lead to meaning and effective communication.
 Composing Processes

WRITING

Draft. The writer completes a discovery draft, usually written as fast as possible, often without notes, to find
out what he/she knows and does not know, what works and does not work. The writer is particularly interested
in what works, since most effective writing is built from extending and reinforcing the positive elements in
what has been written.
 Composing Processes

REWRITING

Develop. The writer explores the subject by developing each point through definition, description, and
documentation which show as well as tell the writer, and then the reader, what piece of writing means. The
writer usually needs to add information to understand the potential meaning of what has been written and often
must restructure the successive drafts.

Clarify. The writer anticipates and answers the readers’ questions. At this stage, the writer cuts what is
unnecessary and add those spontaneous touches we call “style” . These changes produce the illusion of easy
writing that makes easy for reading.

Edit. The writer goes over the piece line by line , often reading aloud, to make sure that each word, each mark
of punctuation, contributes to the effectiveness of the piece of writing.
 Types of Composition Writing: 1

 Description

 Narration

 Exposition

 Argumentation
 Description

Also known as descriptive writing, is a statement or account that describes something or someone, listing
characteristic features and significant details to provide a reader with a portrayal in words.
 Narration

Also known as narrative writing, is a personal account, a story the writer tells his or her reader. It can be an
account of a series of facts or events, given in order and establishing connections between the steps. It can even
be dramatic, in which case you can present each individual scene with actions and dialog.
 Exposition

Also known as expository writing, is the act of expounding or explaining a person, place , thing, or event. Your
purpose is not just to describe something but to give it a reality, an interpretation, your ideas on what that thing
means. It is laying out a proposition to explain a general notion or abstract idea of your subject.
 Argumentation

Also called as argumentative writing, is basically an exercise in comparing and contrasting. It is the
methodological presentation of both sides of an argument using logical or formal reasoning. The end result is
formulated to persuade why thing A is better than thing B. It will show or make the content of your argument.